


What Happens Next

by mmouse15



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-03-02 22:01:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13327257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmouse15/pseuds/mmouse15
Summary: Missing scene, before Thor takes Loki back to Asgard.





	What Happens Next

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lacrimula_Falsa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lacrimula_Falsa/gifts).



Shawarma was...interesting, Steve decided. It was spicy, but not hot. It was filling, too, which he desperately needed after the fight against the Chitauri. He was also fighting off sleep, because the serum gave him the energy to keep fighting, but once he was done, his body demanded food and sleep to heal him.

Clint and Natasha looked about like he did — tired, a bit dazed, ready to sleep — while Tony just looked stunned. Banner was quiet and withdrawn, while Thor was doing what Steve should be - shoveling food in as if it would be taken away in the next five minutes.

When everyone had finished eating as much as they were able, the Avengers rose as Tony paid the proprietors (and left them a hell of a tip, if their expressions were anything to go by) and they all trooped outside to retrieve Loki, who was fuming on the sidewalk just outside the cafe, with Mjölnir sitting on his chest.

"Well, brother, if you hadn't caused all this fuss, you wouldn't be there!" Thor boomed as he retrieved the hammer and the brother. Loki opened his mouth, and Thor pulled something from a pocket and reached for Loki's face. The object sprang around Loki's head and covered his mouth.

"No," Thor said, suddenly serious. "I cannot trust myself around you. Your words are like honey to my ears, blocking everything but you, and I now see the devastation that causes. You will not speak again until it is before our father."

Loki's eyes blazed, but he followed when Thor grabbed his arm and began walking.

"Wait, where are you going?" Steve asked. Everyone looked interested. Thor stopped.

"I need the Tesseract back from Fury. It should not be here on Midgard. You do not have the power to contain it against the forces that will try to steal it. Asgard does. Once I have the Tesseract, I will ask Heimdall to retrieve us and we will go before our father for his judgement."

Steve nodded, "That's a good plan. Can I offer a slight delay?"

Thor drew himself up, then paused. "How long a delay?"

"One night?" Steve offered. "It would give us time to clean up, take care of our injuries, call Fury, and arrange a spot where you would be in the clear for the bridge to open."

Thor thought for a moment, then nodded, "That is an excellent plan!"

"Great. So, we need a place," Steve began.

"We have one," Natasha interrupted. "Or, SHIELD does, at least. I don't think it got damaged, but let me call." She stepped away, putting her hand up to her ear and murmuring. Clint went with her, his eyes roving around, protecting her back.

"Great," Steve replied. 

Tony spoke up, "I'm going back to the Tower. I need to check on Pepper. I've got a medical team there, they'll check me over. Call me when you know where we're going to be. I want to watch this bastard leave my planet." His fingers were moving rapidly over his phone as he was talking, and everybody's pockets chimed at the same time, except Banner's.

"Dr. Banner, I would like to invite you to join me at the Tower. I promise no cages, poky doctors, or any weirdness associated with your alter ego. However, as I've mentioned, I do have all the toys and I'm pretty sure those floors weren't damaged. J?"

Tony's phone spoke, "The lab floors are undamaged, sir."

"Great, J, thanks. Dr. Banner?"

Bruce tucked himself in, looking even smaller, as everyone looked at him. "Yeah, I'd...I'd like that, Mr. Stark."

"Tony, we're going to be best buds. Let's go."

A car had pulled up at the end of the street, as close as it could get given the pieces of buildings that blocked the road. The driver's door opened and a round-faced man came out.

"Mr. Stark!"

"Happy! Nice work getting here! Let's go, Bruce, we have toys to play with," Tony snagged Bruce's sleeve and headed to the car, talking a mile a minute.

"Right, that makes things easier," Natasha said, coming back to their group. "SHIELD headquarters are undamaged, and we're able to use their facilities to get cleaned up and get some sleep. There's a holding cell for your brother, Thor. Shall we?"

Steve paused, "Is this the same place I woke up?"

Natasha's lips quirked before she controlled them. "Yes, but please don't hold that against it. It's a good place."

Steve snorted in disbelief, but led the way. Once they were out of the damaged zone, moving became more difficult, with crowds of people wanting to see what had happened. Once word of the Avengers being on the street filtered through the crowd, more and more people began to press in until police were necessary to clear a path. Steve had tugged his cowl up again, and Clint had pulled a pair of purple sunglasses from somewhere. Thor strode along, towing Loki. Natasha tucked herself between Steve and Thor and tried to remain inconspicuous. 

They finally made it to SHIELD, where men dressed in black field gear and holding big rifles waited for them. Once inside, Natasha and Clint led them to the holding cell to deposit Loki and Mjölnir, thence to the locker rooms, where everyone gratefully peeled off their dirty uniforms and got clean. Even Thor stripped down a bit and washed the grime from his arms and face. 

Once clean, Clint led them to a dormitory style room filled with bunk beds, pillows at one end, folded blankets at the other. Plain white sheets covered the mattresses, and the room was dark and, once the door was shut, quiet. A few beds were occupied. They chose beds close together. Steve was not surprised when Natasha slipped in and curled up in the same upper bed as Clint. Thor merely stretched out on a lower bunk and crossed his arms over his chest, sinking into a still state. Steve chose the bunk above Thor and next to Clint and Natasha, and let himself slip into sleep.

The next morning, Fury showed up in the cafeteria with the Tesseract in a clear container. Without a word, he handed it to Thor.

"Central Park," he said to Natasha, and she nodded.

"Time to go?" Steve asked, and Natasha shook her head.

"Finish eating, Steve."

When they were finished, Natasha led them to the cell to retrieve Loki, then to the garage. Clint grabbed Steve and took him over to a motorcycle.

"Harley-Davidson, pretty similar to what you drove in the war," Clint told him, "Fury's kind of expecting you to take off after this."

"Well, he's not wrong," Steve admitted.

Clint nodded, "Yeah, he's usually on the ball. The saddlebags have a few changes of clothes. Here," he offered Steve a credit card, "it's actually a debit card, attached to your bank account. Fury got you back pay for all those years on the ice. The information is also in the saddlebags."

Steve took the card and tucked it into his wallet. "Thank you, Clint."

"Any time, Cap," Clint said. "Follow us?"

Steve nodded and wheeled the bike out. Natasha was driving a modest sedan. Clint climbed in the passenger side, and Natasha drove away. Steve had no problem following them to the place they'd chosen in Central Park. Police and SHIELD personnel had made a cordon around the area, keeping the crowds away.  
Thor didn't waste any time. He offered the end of the container to Loki, who reluctantly took it, and a cascade of multi-colored light encompassed them as they disappeared.

The rest of the Avengers took their leave, but not before Tony made sure everyone had exchanged phone numbers.

"Because, you know, now that the world knows we're here, they're going to need us again," Tony remarked.

Steve straddled his bike, thinking about that. He was going to use his time to think about how he wanted to interact in the world that was both familiar and not. He started the bike and drove away, hoping the wind would blow the cobwebs that cluttered his mind away, too.

~fin


End file.
